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CO Senate gives final OK to immigrant tuition bill

DENVER — A bill to grant in-state tuition status to illegal immigrants who graduate from Colorado schools has won final approval in the state Senate.

All 20 Senate Democrats voted in favor of the bill today and all 15 Republicans voted against it. Senate Bill 126 will now be considered in the House, where Republicans hold a one-vote majority.

The bill would allow illegal immigrant students to pay the lower in-state tuition rate at Colorado colleges if they meet certain conditions, such as attending a Colorado high school for at least three years and graduating from a state school.

Democrats say having more students attend college will benefit the state’s economy but Republicans argue the bill would provide an incentive to illegal immigrants to come to the U.S.